Aren Mizuno, a ninth grader at Phillips Exeter Academy, is the winner of the Tokyo Academics’ first Young Writers’ Essay Competition. The runner-up is Yin Lin, a ninth grader at St. Maur International School.
Our inaugural competition was open to all citizens and residents of Japan aged 18 and under as of July 1, 2018, and enrolled...

While there has been a push for more Japanese students to go abroad for university these past few years, there still remain numerous hurdles and difficulties in doing so. Examples of such hurdles include perceived cost, time commitment, and access to resources and information regarding the application process.
To combat these hurdles and make...

Tokyo Academics is excited to announce a new service for high school students: the “College-Bound Profile” counseling service. As part of our growing menu of College Admissions Counseling services, this 90-minute session provides students with a solid foundation to identify personal values, interests, and passions; explore majors and career trajectories; and plan for the...

Adapting to science classes can be one of the most difficult adjustments for students to make in high school. Below we’ve listed out aspects that can make the adjustment to these classes difficult and what needs to be focused on for success.
Biology
Biology is one of the easiest classes to study the wrong wayfor....

The Science Learning Community
Here at Tokyo Academics, we pride ourselves on fostering an innovative learning community where any student can grow into a creative and inquisitive scientist. Our science learning community focuses on helping students understand the world around them -- from the light rays bending through our universe to the inner workings of...

The Humanities Learning Community
Here at Tokyo Academics, we pride ourselves on fostering an innovative learning community where students can grow into creative and bright scholars of tomorrow. Our humanities learning community focuses on helping students excel in reading comprehension, written and oral communication, and critical thinking through group classes and subject tutoring in English,...

As many of you kick your essay efforts into high-gear, the head of our Essay Counseling Division, Taka, has two pro-tips on college essays based on current trends in admissions we are seeing.
1. Common Application Essay: Keep it focused
One important thing a lot of students miss is that your application is not initially reviewed...

Summer’s finally upon us. And after the crescendo of finals-induced stress it can be all too easy to sit back and settle into a 2-month mental check-out. But summer is the perfect time to explore the world around you simply for the sake of your own curiosity -- to divorce yourself from the idea...

It’s that time of year again. The days are gradually getting longer, the sun shining almost all of the way through, with that perfect once-in-a-year warmth where you can walk out sleeveless without getting a chill or working up a sweat. All this can mean only one thing -- finals.
First of all, let it...

“I walked through a long row of houses at the level of the first or second floor, just as one walks through a tunnel from one carriage to another. I walked quickly, perhaps also because the house was so rickety that for that reason alone one hurried. The doors between the houses I did...

The following is a guest post by our AP Physics and Advanced Pre-Calculus class instructor and tutor, Taryn.
“There is no more fulfilling way to spend our time on Earth than exploring the limits of the Universe by expanding the limits of our minds."
March 14th of this year was a devastating day for modern physics...

The following is a guest post by our AP Physics and Advanced Pre-Calculus class instructor, Taryn. An advocate for science outreach and holder of a degree in Astrophysics, she is excited to share the following breakthrough with the TA community.
In the following post you'll learn about what the heck gravitational waves are and how...

Are You Ready for High School?
The change from Middle School to High School can often be a jarring one. The increased academic rigor, shift in social dynamics, and general mentality of “everything you do actually matters now” can create a lot of pressure for students who are moving into their Freshmen year. While the...

Tokyo Academics is excited to announce our first annual writing competition! Starting this year, we will be offering Japan's students (both Japanese and International schools), aged 18 and under, an annual forum to communicate their hopes, dreams, fears, and concerns about the world, the future, and more. As an educational institution in Tokyo, Japan,...

The change from Middle School to High School can often be a jarring one. The increased academic rigor, shift in social dynamics, and general mentality of “everything you do actually matters now” can create a lot of pressure for students who are moving into their Freshmen year. While the shift itself is an unavoidable...

Are You Ready for High School?
The change from Middle School to High School can often be a jarring one. The increased academic rigor, shift in social dynamics, and general mentality of “everything you do actually matters now” can create a lot of pressure for students who are moving into their Freshmen year. While the...

We are excited to be hosting the 4th installment of our FREE College Prep Seminar Series this Sunday, February 25 at 7:00 PM. This week's talk will focus on how to plan a summer college tour from Tokyo.
Each lecture in our College Prep Seminar Series focuses on a different aspect of the college preparation process and is perfect for:
Current...

Moving is tough. Moving somewhere with a new language, laws, food, transportation, etc. is even tougher. In recent years, Tokyo has become more friendly to first-time residents; however, it still remains a difficult city to get settled into.
Seeing this (and having experienced it firsthand), we at TA have put together a detailed landing guide...

In today's world, information and stories can be instantly shared all over the world at the click of a button. As such, critical reading and writing skills are ever increasingly more important. This week, we sat down with our writing and reading instructor, Michael, to explore this topic, find out what inspires him to create...

Tokyo Academics is proud to release a research paper we have created in collaboration with an outstanding recent graduate of a local high school. Over the past semester, Christina Nikitin, a Hiroo Gakuen graduate and current freshman at Stanford University, interned with Tokyo Academics to conduct research and survey almost 50 and interview 16...

With many of you finishing up essays in the coming weeks, Taka, the head of our college and boarding school essay counseling department, has shared his tips for boosting creativity and overcoming writer’s block.
3 Tips for Boosting Your Creativity
1. Give yourself constraints. Any constraints would do. There’s a good reason why traditional poetry has...

We hope you have all had a great start to the new semester! This past Sunday, we were elated to kick off a new wave of classes. We were also happy to see many new and familiar faces at the third installment of our College Prep Seminar Series.
Each lecture in our College Prep Seminar...

We here at Tokyo Academics are constantly seeking out and developing unique and challenging educational experiences to provide to our students. One area that we’ve identified is the preparation of middle school students for the increased academic rigors of high school. Starting from 9th grade, the core skills of reading and writing take on...

During this holiday season, many instructors, students, and parents were traveling. We've compared notes about the best ways to pass or make use of the time in transit, irrespective of where you're coming and going to.
Justin - While you're in transit: Put your work away "Trying to be productive while on a plane...

"Is there a doctor on the plane?"
Niko, a TA instructor who recently started medical school at the University of Nevada - Reno, was recently on a flight from San Francisco to Tokyo, when the call went out over the announcement system.
"I didn't really think I was qualified," he said later, "but I wanted to...

With the end of the semester coming up and final exams quickly approaching, TA tutors have some quick advice for getting prepared and tackling those important exams.
On the test day
Answer what you know first “Maximize efficiency by doing questions in the order that's easiest for you. If a question or section is taking too...

It’s already December, and that means finals and then winter break, when you can at last relax, feast on good food, and work on your college applications! For those of you gearing up to write all those regular-decision application essays, I thought it’d be useful to share some of the common mistakes I have...

This post is a little different. Douglas Busacker, our Academic Director, gave a talk at TEDxRoppongi, held here at Tokyo Academics. We are excerpting (with edits) a piece of his talk for this post.
One of the most common study habits students pick up is cramming. Cramming comes naturally to students as the natural solution...

Hard work produces results. This goes for studying as it goes for anything in life. But could students’ hard work be going to waste if they aren’t studying and working in an effective way?
Researchers have conducted experiments in this area and, in the January 2013 issue of 'Psychological Science in the Public Interest', a thorough...

We've had a lot of questions from parents and students alike on the differences between EA and ED. It's a bit confusing, so we totally understand. Just to make sure everyone in our community is on the same page, we created a short write-up of all the details.

Aren Mizuno, a ninth grader at Phillips Exeter Academy, is the winner of the Tokyo Academics’ first Young Writers’ Essay Competition. The runner-up is Yin Lin, a ninth grader at St. Maur International School. Our inaugural competition was open to all citizens and residents of Japan aged 18 and under as of July 1, 2018, and enrolled…

While there has been a push for more Japanese students to go abroad for university these past few years, there still remain numerous hurdles and difficulties in doing so. Examples of such hurdles include perceived cost, time commitment, and access to resources and information regarding the application process. To combat these hurdles and make the…

Tokyo Academics is excited to announce a new service for high school students: the “College-Bound Profile” counseling service. As part of our growing menu of College Admissions Counseling services, this 90-minute session provides students with a solid foundation to identify personal values, interests, and passions; explore majors and career trajectories; and plan for the overall…

Adapting to science classes can be one of the most difficult adjustments for students to make in high school. Below we’ve listed out aspects that can make the adjustment to these classes difficult and what needs to be focused on for success. Biology Biology is one of the easiest classes to study the wrong…

The Science Learning Community Here at Tokyo Academics, we pride ourselves on fostering an innovative learning community where any student can grow into a creative and inquisitive scientist. Our science learning community focuses on helping students understand the world around them — from the light rays bending through our universe to the inner workings…

The Humanities Learning Community Here at Tokyo Academics, we pride ourselves on fostering an innovative learning community where students can grow into creative and bright scholars of tomorrow. Our humanities learning community focuses on helping students excel in reading comprehension, written and oral communication, and critical thinking through group classes and subject tutoring in English,…

As many of you kick your essay efforts into high-gear, the head of our Essay Counseling Division, Taka, has two pro-tips on college essays based on current trends in admissions we are seeing. 1. Common Application Essay: Keep it focused One important thing a lot of students miss is that your application is not…

Summer’s finally upon us. And after the crescendo of finals-induced stress it can be all too easy to sit back and settle into a 2-month mental check-out. But summer is the perfect time to explore the world around you simply for the sake of your own curiosity — to divorce yourself from the idea that…

It’s that time of year again. The days are gradually getting longer, the sun shining almost all of the way through, with that perfect once-in-a-year warmth where you can walk out sleeveless without getting a chill or working up a sweat. All this can mean only one thing — finals. First of all, let…

“I walked through a long row of houses at the level of the first or second floor, just as one walks through a tunnel from one carriage to another. I walked quickly, perhaps also because the house was so rickety that for that reason alone one hurried. The doors between the houses I did not…